“It’s a thrill,” says the Tony winner, who was invited to replace an ailing Dixie Carter in a concert reading of “Ghosts for a Summer Hotel” Sept. 25. The songstress will also perform in concert with her collaborator of 20 years, pianist Kenny Werner, Sept. 27. Both shows will take place at the Crown and Anchor in Provincetown.

“Ghosts” is an adaptation of Williams’ last Broadway play, “Clothes for a Summer Hotel,” about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

“It’s based on a true story and Williams’ friendship with these two people,” says Buckley, who will portray Zelda opposite Jeff Zinn, artistic director of Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, as Fitzgerald. Certain scenes will be underscored by composer Michael Valenti, who created the score for the original 1980 Broadway production.

“I’m a real Tennessee Williams fan,” says Buckley in a phone interview. “His work is very beautiful poetry and written in musical language. His images are hauntingly beautiful. He was inspired by his own demons and experiences that became transcendent. His characters are dreamscapes of our own experiences.”

Buckley met the legendary playwright when she was a young acting student in New York. She auditioned for a standby role to Claire Bloom in “The Red Devil Battery Sign.”

“It was exciting stuff,” she recalls. “I would get to hang with Tennessee Williams.”

She got the standby role, but her agent advised her to turn it down.

The Texas native made her stage debut in 1969 as Martha Washington in the hit musical “1776.” But her big break came in 1982 when she was cast as Grizabella, the Glamour Cat in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats,” which netted her a Tony Award for best actress.

The part and the musical’s blockbuster song, “Memory,” “was a moment in my life that my abilities came together,” she says. “I feel so privileged I got to do that.”

She never tires of singing “Memory” in her concerts.

“Every time I do it a new awareness comes to me. It’s the jewel in my collection.”

Probably best-known as Abby on the popular TV series “Eight Is Enough,” Buckley also appeared in the HBO series “Oz,” and in several films including “Carrie,” “Tender Mercies” and last year’s “The Happening.” Her other stage roles include “The Triumph of Love” and Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard.” She’s also had a long career performing in concerts and cabarets.

“I love doing it all,” she says. “I’m lucky to be making a living.”

Once dubbed the “Voice of Broadway,” Buckley says her greatest accomplishment is: “I’m still here and I’m still singing. I’m one of God’s singers on earth. It’s my gig and I feel blessed.”

Buckley keeps her voice tuned up by vocalizing every day and by working out. She admits to singing in the shower like the rest of us.

“That’s when I do my best singing,” she jokes. “I want to do a show on shower songs.”

Buckley has shared her lifelong lessons by teaching song interpretation classes for 37 years.

“Everything of value I’ve learned from great teachers,” she says. “I feel it’s my responsibility to pass that along. I get personal gratification from imparting these sacred tools.”

Her classes attract an eclectic mix of students. Among the lessons she imparts is that “the voice follows who you are. It’s not a separate entity. It’s an expression of your own soul. You have to take care of yourself and your emotional health.”

She also incorporates meditation in her classes “because performance is about focus and concentration.”

Buckley studied all the great lady singers when she was growing up like Dinah Washington, Della Reese and Sarah Vaughn. “I was influenced by the music of the ’60s.” Topping her list of favorite singers today are Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Michael McDonald.

One thing fans probably don’t know about the singer is that she’s a cowgirl who lives on a 35-acre ranch west of Fort Worth.

The star owns four horses including two show horses. An amateur rider, she competes in horse cutting events, a popular equine sport rooted in the tradition of the Old West.

“It became a sport born of cowboys bragging,” she says. “It’s really fun.”

“Ghosts for a Summer Hotel” will be presented at 8 p.m. Sept. 25. “An Evening with Betty Buckley and Kenny Werner” will be at 8 p.m. Sept. 27. Both shows at are the Crown and Anchor in Provincetown. For information call 866-789-TENN (8366) or visit www.twptown.org.